In part two of this National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week roundtable, the conversation shifts from what dispatch is to what it can do to the people doing it.
Featuring dispatchers from police, fire, and paramedic services across Canada and the United States, this episode explores the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to crisis, the realities of operational stress injuries, and the challenges of accessing meaningful support.
You’ll hear discussion of suicide exposure within communications centres, repetition trauma, nervous system overload, the frequency of mental health-related calls, and the lasting operational impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation also examines what helps, what gets missed, and why recovery is rarely linear.
This episode is not about individual weakness. It is about cumulative exposure, organizational culture, and the responsibility of the systems that depend on dispatchers every day.
It also closes with a series of thank-you messages from first responders to the dispatchers behind the scenes.
Guests
Vince Savoia, former paramedic, dispatcher and college instructor
Keirsten McFie – Kingston fire dispatcher
Kelly Ing – Toronto police dispatcher off work
Emilie-Celine Lowther – Hamilton ambulance dispatcher off work
Resources Discussed in This Episode
If you or someone you know needs support, help is available.
• 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada)
Call or text 988
• Boots on the Ground
Peer support for first responders and families
https://bootsontheground.ca
• Wings of Change Peer Support
Support for public safety personnel and families
https://wingsofchange.ca
• I’ve Got Your Back 911
A charity with awesome merch supporting the mental health of first responders across Canada and (among other things) the creators of a new APP connecting first responders and their families to help at the touch of a button
https://ivegotyourback911.com